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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · land · racket · capital · prune · snap · stick · squash

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. land — a country
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a city
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — to come down
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. squash — to crush
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. lean — thin
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com